FFXII: Destiny of Dawn and Dusk
by Possessionless
Summary: FFXII divergence. Calvin from Nalbina got more than he bargained for when he arrived in Rabanastre. He is taken on an adventure spanning the entirety of Ivalice with diverse companions, all with one agenda; to free Dalmasca.


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Prologue

_A word called Ivalice. An age where magick is commonplace and airships scour the skies. A war looms over the horizon; the mighty Archadian Empire begins a campaign to conquer its neighbours: the kingdoms of Dalmasca, Nabradia, Landis and Rozzaria._

_Two years later, after the Archadian invasion; Dalmasca fell. The king being murdered led the princess to commit suicide, leaving no heir to the throne, thus the kingdom is now under Archadian rule. Nabradia was destroyed in an explosive conflict, leaving much of the land barren. Landis suffered the same, dreadful fate as Dalmasca and is also ruled by Archadia. Rozzaria, __possessing an army equal to Archadia's, fought back in an attempt to defend its own people as well as those of the other kingdoms. Nowadays, Archadia continue in their aim for domination, although seem to be more lenient._

_Today in Dalmasca, Archadia allow the people to live freely, albeit under the watchful eye of the numerous Archadian soldiers patrolling the streets. In the capital city Rabanastre, the people line the streets in wait for the appointment of their new representative from Archadia. The people hope this will allow their kingdom to be free once again… _

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_Dalmasca Estersands;_

I could feel the intense heat from the sun high above beating against me; it was really starting to get too much. The thought that Rabanastre was at the end of the horizon forced me to keep going – _Just over the hill Calvin_, I kept telling myself. I could see the magnificent towers and edifices peaking high above the large rocks and sand dunes that surrounded me at every corner in these Estersands.

I felt so excited that I was nearly there; I could finally make something of myself and live in the busy capital city, maybe find a bit of adventure along the way. Of course, most people would turn to Archadia to make something of themselves, but I don't want to risk the rumoured banishment people face if they don't make a success of themselves, and the fact that I'm only 17 kind of lowers my chances.

The long journey from Nalbina has been quite treacherous so far, I had several run-ins with a number of wolves, all of which I scared of quite easily with my water magick. I couldn't stand it in Nalbina ever since the Archadian invasion, not that I liked it there in the first place. My parents died just after I was born, and my guardian is now in Nalbina Dungeon after Archadian soldiers decided she 'wasn't good enough' for cheap labour. After that, with nothing left there for me, I decided to take this journey to Rabanastre.

After about ten minutes of perpetually walking in a straight line, I found a large cliff face in front of me with slopes either side. I decided it was time to take a rest so I put my large leather satchel down, took off my sand-engorged shoes and sat beside them. Rabanastre was getting closer, I was nearly there. Feeling parched, I took a bottle of fresh water out from my satchel. The bottle was so clear I could see my windswept brown hair and sweat covered face reflected back at me. _Just over the hill Calvin_, I repeated to myself while looking up at the giant grey airship that just passed high above. That must have been a flight to Nalbina; of course I couldn't afford a flight with only 120 gil to my name.

Just as I was about to get back up and continue with my voyage, I leapt up at a small dishevelled figure than had landed in front of me from above. Its height reached no higher than my waist, it had a scrawny body which was emphasised by a bulbous red head. Its angry eyes could hardly be made out amidst its large dark mouth and sharp pearly fangs. I've heard about this creature, it must be the _Rogue Tomato _terrorising wayfarers that everyone was talking about back in Nalbina.

"Hey you!" a voice shouted from above.

I looked up to find a young boy around my age poised at the edge of the rock face.

"Stop that thing!" he shouted.

I turned to look back at the creature that by this point had started to run away. Raising my right hand and pointing it at the beast, I shouted, "_Immobilise_!" Red magick shot out of a force field generated by my hand, and froze the rogue on the spot.

The boy jumped down in front of me with a thud just like the monster had. His metal knee-high boots made detailed imprints in the sand. The cross-pattern on his boots carried up along his baggy navy trousers to his waist, where it met a scarlet belt-like cloth. I noticed his lean-abs were prominent as his metallic waistcoat barely covered his chest. As he stood up I observed his white wavy hair that was the same texture as mine, which complimented his slight facial feature well.

"Thanks dude," he said smiling at me, "Gotta finish him off,"

He drew out a gleaming mythril blade from a leather scabbard hanging from his back, held it high above his head and brought it crashing down onto the _Rogue Tomato_'s head. The monster let out a high-pitched screech as its body burst into thousands of tiny light particles – as happened when all creatures of Ivalice perished – which then floated into the air and slowly dissolved.

"Impressive," I chuckled as he put the blade back into his scabbard. I couldn't help but notice the proud look of accomplishment as he smirked back at me.

"Haha thanks, my boss made me hunt it down, wasn't too hard I guess," said the boy gesturing his hand behind his head as if appreciative, "You heading to Rabanastre?"

"Yeah I am," I answered getting excited again as I was so close to the city.

"I'll walk back with you; no wolf will be a match for us then," he laughed signalling to walk up the sand dune-ramp.

I was quite happy to walk with him, he seemed cool and he knew how to protect himself. I thought maybe he could be the first acquaintance I made in Rabanastre.

We discussed a lot of things on the way to the city; I found out that his name was Vaan and he was 17, the same age as me. I told him my back-story and he told me his. I learned that, like me, he had no relatives and was an orphan. He lived in relative poverty throughout his life, especially after the Archadian invasion where the line between rich and poor became even more distinguishable – '…_they've made life so hard for the people here…' –._ Also, to earn his living he runs errands – _'I help out in a shop above where I live in the East End…' – and_ hunts small beasts on a day to day basis – '_..not that they're really strong or anything haha…'_ – He also preoccupies the other orphaned children – '…_they think I'm their role model or something…' –_. I found it inspiring how he seemed to be so happy after everything he'd been through; however, I was starting to think maybe life in Rabanastre was not as easy – or better even – as I thought it would be.

After about ten minutes we reached the peak of the final sand-dune and the entrance to the city was in clear eyesight. The city looked like everything I had expected it to be; magnificent, soaring towers embellished with Galtean architecture were plentiful and a grand granite wall hugged the cities vast border.

"Welcome to Rabanastre Cal'" Vaan said.

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_**A/N: **Thanks for reading guys :) I really hope you think this works as a divergence without the "I got sucked into my PS2" that you see around here lol. Loads more is in store and this will not just be a basic retelling of the game, i plan to add things and change things :)_

_Reviews are wanted and greatly appriciated ^_^~_


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